Political Quotes

“Maintaining and investing in our national water infrastructure is an important responsibility of Congress. Critical to our coastal and inland communities alike, these resources keep our national transportation networks running and our economy growing. The Water Resources Development Act protects our neighborhoods from floods, provides for environmental restoration and protection, and helps keep commerce moving, all while ensuring community engagement, access, and transparency in project decision making. Regrettably, the bill before us erodes many of the safeguards designed to protect the very lives and communities impacted by these projects. Despite the enormous benefits of passing a water resources bill into law, we should not do so at the cost of decades-old protections for our states, cities and towns. If we weaken the laws that require us to evaluate the full range of options for projects and alternatives, we may undermine the success of future projects, endangering their fiscal soundness and environmental stewardship. In Rhode Island, the Army Corps of Engineers has worked diligently to protect our coastlines, stem shoreline erosion, institute flood protections and improve inland navigation. Over the past 50 years, most of the navigation work on Rhode Island's waterways has been constructed by the Army Corps.…”